Day 37 - Lyon, France

We are on the move today. We took the train from Marseilles to Lyon. Before we could do that, we had to return the rental car.

Nothing is easy in France, especially driving. Thank goodness for google maps that work in almost any country. The Hertz guy wrote down the address of the closet gas station to the train station so we could easily refill and return the car. We put the address in the map app and 20 minutes of driving in a dense metropolitan area (think NYC with shorter blocks and more scooters), we arrive to a station that’s closed because the gas truck is filling up the station’s gas reservoirs. There’s no entrance while that is happening, apparently.

We are not deterred. We ask google for the next closest station and we’re on our way down some of the narrowest streets I have ever driven on, dodging motorcycles right and left. We arrive to … nothing; not even remnants of an old gas station. We sigh in defeat and head to Hertz, another 20 minutes even though the train station was 2 miles away.

The return guy asks if we filled the car up, I said no, he said no problem. I’m thinking cha ching! Who knows what Hertz will charge for a quarter tank for a hybrid.

Leaving Marseille means we’ve left the Mediterranean Sea behind us. After weeks on the water, we are now inland. There will still be water as our hotel in Lyon is between two rivers, but it’s not the same. We spent twenty-six days on or around the Mediterranean Sea. It was amazing.

Here are a few pictures along the way to Lyon.

We are staying at a boutique hotel between the Rhône and Saone rivers, near old town. We will explore tomorrow, but I took a short walk to find a grocery store and found Saint Nizier Church.

The Church of Saint-Nizier is a church in the Presqu'île district of Lyon, France, in the 2nd arrondissement, between the Place des Terreaux and the Place des Jacobins. Its name refers to Nicetius of Lyon, a bishop of the city during the 6th century.

We found a cute place for a cocktail on a small street in old town. They took our order, made us pay, then brought the drinks. Sound thinking for an outdoor restaurant. Check out their sign. MOS-Maker of Stories

For the first time on this trip, we might have heard thunder, or it could be the subway below us. We just got here so we don’t know. Nope, definitely raining, wow it has been a very hot minute since we’ve seen rain! And it’s cooling off. Even the waiters were coming out of their shops to look at the rain.

Then we stopped for wine… and dinner.